


Not Normal

by purple_umbrella



Category: Gintama
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, A bit of drinking, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 17:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16644764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purple_umbrella/pseuds/purple_umbrella
Summary: Sometimes, she wanted normal experiences. Experiences like drinking with her girlfriends and moonlight kisses on rooftops. Only… those things were impossible for her, all because of him.





	Not Normal

**Author's Note:**

> Another short OkiKagu oneshot because I love these two so much.
> 
> I'm in a writing group and I got the prompt "rooftop bar" and just kinda ran with it. -shrug-

As fairy lights twisted in the trees and the noise of the crowd drifted high above the street, Kagura leaned against the railing and sighed. It was a sad, heavy breath that--had any other of the girls in her group made--one of the men on the rooftop bar would’ve asked what was wrong.

Kagura swapped her stare right and then left and then right again, but none of the men buying her friends drinks bothered to ask.

She wanted to shout at them. Her fingers itched for a fight at her sides. A night spent with a group of acquaintances--girls her age that she got along fine with, really--and… nothing. Try as she might, she was doomed not to fit in.

With a spin on her heel, she turned and rested against the thick metal fencing that kept the drunks stumbling on the bar’s rooftop from plunging onto the street below.

Now that she was facing the bar’s crowd, she had a better grasp on things--not that she was any less confused. She noticed a couple of lingering gazes, a heated glance or two tossed her way, but every pair of eyes she met quickly looked away.   
  
And some of the men flirting with her friends would cast her a not-so-subtle look, and she’d give a smile, only to have them hastily avoid her.

She was going to start taking it personal, really.

Was there something on her face? Kagura tucked the hair that had freed itself from its twist behind her ears, hating the burning self-consciousness that came with nights like these. Nights where, try as she might to test what normal human girls did--drink and flirt and maybe, finally kiss a boy or two--but no one seemed up for the challenge.

She was of age now. She could drink and flirt if she wanted to (so long as Gin didn’t find out).

But for some reason, an invisible force field seemed to surround her when it came to men at places like these. While they might chat with her politely in a group, they never sought her out. Never attempted to get her alone. Never tried to kiss her...   
  
Kagura pushed off the railing and went to the bar to buy herself a drink, since no one else was. She walked across the rooftop, an inch of exposed thigh lengthening to two as she walked--the stretch of skin pale between the hem of skirt and the top of her stockings.

She ordered a cheap drink, downed it, and then ordered a second. When she smiled at the man next to her, he turned red and practically fell over himself to run the other way. Kagura sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night and ordered a third drink.

She tipped it back, easily, swallowing the liquid in a succession of gulps. When nothing but ice remained in her glass, she made a face and quickly scrubbed the back of her hand over her lips as though it could help ease the horrible taste.

Why so many of the people in her life were drunks was beyond her. Cheap alcohol was disgusting. She could find much better ways to fill her stomach--pickled seaweed, pancakes, egg on rice...

The walk back across the rooftop toward her friends was a bit harder with three strong drinks in her and the thought of tasty food, and Kagura stumbled a bit. But no gentleman rushed to help her.

When she returned to the semicircle of girls her age, she noticed that the group of businessmen had been replaced by a splattering of cocksure young men in black coats.

Her eyes narrowed. It was a uniform she knew all too well.

Reaching a deceptively small hand forward, she grabbed one of the men by his coat and narrowed her eyes.

“Oi. Tax robber.”   
  
The man blinked, partly in surprise, mostly in fear, and tried to break free of her grasp. But it was unrelenting and she held tight, giving the stiff fabric a tug so he was forced to bend forward a bit.   
  
“Buy me a drink,” she commanded.

His eyes flew wide and his lips opened and closed a bit like a fish, before nodding eagerly. Kagura released him and watched as he raced toward the bar.

When she leaned her backside against the railing once more, her legs parting in an unladylike manner, she asked, “Why’d I have to ask him?”   
  
“Huh?” one of her friends asked, sipping a drink that she hadn’t had to pay for herself.   
  
“I asked him to buy me one, ‘cause no one’s offering.”

One of her friends hid a laugh behind her hand while another exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and said, cooly, “You didn’t ask him. You  _ commanded _ him.”   
  
“After you practically assaulted him,” another pipped in.   
  
Kagura’s brows lowered.

“It’s because you’re too intimidating,” one friend chimed in. “You’re beautiful, exotic. Not to mention…” She trailed off and another girl finished, “That you can castrate them with your little finger.”

Tired of being insulted, Kagura pushed off the railing and approached a pair of Shinsengumi. Yamazaki and another man she’d met before but hadn’t bothered to learn his name.

She stood before them and crossed her arms. They might not’ve been top tier Shinsengumi, but surely they weren’t afraid of her.

The pair of men chatted about sports, laughing lazily, sipping whiskey. Kagura was handed her drink, but instead of staying to make small talk, he quickly scuttled away.

With a pout, she asked, “Yamazaki, am I pretty?”

Yamazaki sputtered. The other policeman looked away, his neck nearly snapping with the force of his turn.

When  Yamazaki coughed, Kagura exhaled.

“ No one wants to buy me drinks or call me gross names like ‘babe’ and ‘sweetheart’.” Kagura picked her nose with her pinky and flicked the booger off the side of the rooftop. “I know I’m not a lady like  Anego or anything, but I’m not completely horrendous, yes?” She was met with silence, and Kagura straightened. She kind of want to knock them both in the stomach or throw up in her drink, honestly, but wouldn’t it be nice to be  _ included _ for a change?  
  
Finally, the man beside  Yamazaki sighed and admitted, “ It’s because you’re scary, Kagura. You could beat any of these men--professional policemen--in a duel and that’s… problematic.”   
  
Yamazaki nodded, quickly. “Yeah.  Guys want a damsel. Someone that makes them feel strong, capable.”

She puffed out her cheeks, and whispered off the side of the railing, “Men are so pathetic…”

Kagura stared down on the street at the splattering of lights, of pretty girls clinging to their dates’ arms as they stumbled home. Pressing her eyes together, tight, she asked, “So what if I’m strong? Being strong is good, and it doesn’t make me any less pretty, yes?”   


When she opened her eyes, the two policemen were shifting their weight to the balls of their feet frantically.

“Of course you’re pretty, Miss Kagura,” Yamazaki said.

“So then, why don’t they ever hit on me? I wouldn’t beat them up for checking me out.” Probably.

The other policeman smiled nervously, his teeth gleaming in the artificial light. “Well.  Even if  _ you _ don’t beat them up yourself, these men… They’re afraid your boyfriend will.”   
  
Kagura coughed up some of her drink. “What?! Boyfriend?!”

Yamazaki nodded, once. “Yeah.”

“But…” She gave an innocently timed blink. “But I don’t even  _ have _ a boyfriend.”

The Shinsengumi exchanged glances, and Kagura downed her drink, head swimming. The world was starting to tilt slightly to the right, and her grip on the drink made the glass splinter cracks in her hold.   
  
“Who,” she asked through clenched teeth, already aware of the answer, “do they think I’m dating?”   
  
The two men swallowed dramatically, and  Yamazaki whispered, “Okita Sougo.”

“Call him.”

“It’s his night off, and he didn’t want to come out with us ‘cause--”

“ _ Call him _ .”

“Yes ma’am.”

…….

He kicked a can into the street, the force of the blow made the aluminum bounce across the pavement in series of clacks. Sougo glared at the bar lights hanging above his head, painting everything in its vicinity a deceptive shade of blue.

He leaned against the brick wall, red eyes flicking toward the bar’s entrance where his friend had gone to buy just  _ one more drink _ but had gotten  caught by a pretty girl with long, dark hair.

Sougo nearly laughed. She was a sinister beauty, with quick, dangerous eyes. He should go save his friend, really, but it was more fun to watch it play out… The woman’s hand reached out and caught his friend’s jacket, and just when it was starting to get interesting, Okita’s phone rang.

He grabbed the mobile and flipped it open, a frown tugging at his lips at the sight of  Yamazaki’s name.

“Oi. Why are you bothering me on my night off?”

Yamazaki’s voice cracked on the other end of the line, “ Sougo, I’m sorry--” But he was cut off by a shrill voice shouting, “Listen here, you stupid sadist assface.”

Sougo’s spine straightened.

“Monster-girl? Is that you?”

“ Yamazaki, give me the damn phone. I could take it from you, if I wanted, y’know.” Kagura’s voice slurred a bit, and Okita exhaled through his nose.   
  
“Are you drunk?” he asked, and when she replied, her voice was much clearer as though she were speaking into the mouthpiece. Why she was drunk and with Yamazaki was a mystery, but why a stone of jealousy settled low in his gut was less of one.

“No I’m not drunk, and it’s all  _ your _ fault.”

Sougo glanced to where his friend was still flirting shamelessly. Finally, his boring evening was getting interesting. He smirked beneath the blue bar lights. “My fault, huh? And why’s that.”

“Becauseeee,” Kagura drawled.  Yamazaki shouted something in the background before yelping. Sougo chuckled and tapped his toe against the pavement. “ I’m not drunk because no one here wants to buy me a drink or kiss me or have sex with me and it’s all  _ your  _ fault.”

He blinked. “Try that one more time, China. You lost me.”

“Apparently the boys here don’t want to buy me drinks and feel me up because they’re afraid  _ you’ll  _ beat them up.”

“And why would I waste my time and energy defending  _ your  _ honor?”   
  
She grumbled. “That’s what I said! But, apparently, it’s because they think you’re my boyfriend. You!” She laughed, a bitter sound from a rooftop high above where he stood frozen against a brick wall. “You hate me. I hate you. I just want…”

He toe stopped tapping. A million things on his mind but his face betraying none of them.

Yamazaki interrupted his scattered thoughts. “Sorry, Sougo. Kagura’s… drunk. And angry. But it’s fine. I can handle it.”

Sougo’s hand tightened around his phone. Yamazaki couldn’t handle anything, least of all a drunk Monster-girl looking for a fight.   
  
“Where are you?”

……….

Kagura pressed her knees together and smiled at the other man. Yamazaki’s friend. She should probably learn his name. He wasn’t the most unfortunate-looking member of the Shinsengumi she’d ever seen. And he knew she wasn’t dating the sadist and that she  _ wanted  _ to be hit on and he’d said she was pretty, too. Not being one for subtle smiles and batting her lashes, Kagura met his eyes and asked, “Buy me a drink?”  
  
“S-Sure,” he stuttered, and Yamazaki watched the pair move across the rooftop toward the bar.  
  
“Shit,” he whispered, knowing Sougo was headed this way. Knowing Sougo, while not Kagura’s boyfriend per se, had a possessive streak to ward off any and all potential suitors when it came to his rival.

There was a thump, and a slam, and a shriek… and Yamazaki craned his neck to see Okita’s smile--equal parts haughty and amused. Kagura was waving an empty glass in one hand, her other hand planted firmly on her hip.

“As if I’d date a creep like you.”

“You’d be so lucky,” Sougo replied.

Yamazaki sighed. He should probably break them up, or start evacuating people off the rooftop.

“Kagura,” one of the girls she’d come with interjected. “Who’s this?”

“This is an idiot.”

“Sougo,” he corrected cooly.

A sultry smile crossed Kagura’s friends lips. “Sougo, huh? Would you like to join us for a party later?”

Kagura huffed. “He’s no fun at parties.”

“He’s no fun, period,”  Yamazaki mumbled.

Sougo ignored both of them. “I’d be happy to stick around.”

When the group settled back into easy conversation, Kagura kept her glare on Okita. He stared back her, unflinching.   
  
“So, you think I’m the reason no one wants to feel you up, Monster-girl?”   
  
The bend of her brows lifted in exasperation. “I  _ know _ you are! They  _ told _ me so.”   
  
“And you’re so desperate to be… what?  _ normal _ .”

“Is it so bad to want to be normal?”

“But you aren’t normal. You’re very abnormal.”

Injecting some of her signature confidence in her words, she shot back, “I’m amazing, you baka-sadist. The Queen of  Kabukicho.” **  
**

His red eyes lit with something akin to pride. “Exactly. Why be normal when you can be better?”   
  
“So maybe I don’t want to be normal.” She planted her hands on her slim hips. “But I want to hang out with girls my age and have experiences like them. I’m a not a little girl anymore. It isn’t a crime to want to act like it?”   
  
When Okita only buried his hands into his pockets in response, Kagura sighed.   
  
He met her gaze, unsmiling. Though it was quiet between them, the space surrounding them was loud with laughter and conversation. Despite all the noise, Kagura felt alone on the rooftop with Okita.  
  
“I’ll buy you a drink,” he said, voice sharp in the night. Kagura inclined her head but didn’t respond. While his offering was strange, it had been what she’d wanted. Well… She’d wanted some regular guy to buy her a drink. Not him. Sougo was as far from regular as one could get.  
  
And even worse than that, Sougo  _ knew _ her.  
  
He could probably see, despite the airs she put on around everyone else, that she hadn’t a fucking clue what she really wanted. Because he’d always known how to see through her lies when she’d managed to fool everyone else.

He’d known when she was faking her death.  Known when she’d posed as Kanna after so much time away.

He was perceptive, maybe. Or he just understood her better than the others.   
  
“One drink,” she replied. The words hung between them, a promise of something much more than either quite knew what to do with.   
  
She felt weak despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins, making her heart thump frantically against her ribcage as she followed him past the mingling of Shinsengumi and her acquaintances, past a splattering of bar patrons--inebriated young people, mostly, who didn’t cast them a second glance despite their earlier commotion.   
  
Sougo stopped at the bar and asked what she wanted. She stared back at him.   
  
“You, I think.”   
  
His red eyes widened a fraction. Barely noticeable to anyone who wasn’t paying close attention, but Kagura found herself paying very close attention to him in that moment. And lots of moments prior, really.   
  
He was frozen. Kagura frowned. Usually,  Sougo was either punching or insulting her. This quiet was hard to decipher.   
  
“Oi,” she nearly shouted, temper flushing her cheeks. “Did you hear me? I said I wanted--”   
  
Sougo kissed her there on the rooftop bar . She clung to his jacket as he stole her words and her first kiss. When he pulled away, Kagura blinked at him.   
  
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she grinned.   
  
Okita chuckled. “Oh, indeed. So, was it just me you wanted, or another drink?”   
  
She stared at his profile, trying to find her words. When he turned, a cocky little smirk played across his features.   
  
“I could  end you, you know?”   
  
His smirk remained, but some of the haughtiness faded to something much more… genuine. “China-girl, I’ve known that since the second I met you.”

She smiled. The other men on that rooftop might’ve wanted a damsel, they might’ve been afraid of her strength and her temper and her occasional childish fit. But Sougo was different, and, really, different wasn’t such a bad thing to be.


End file.
